Train-order cabinet.



P. S. MCCROSKEY.

1mm ORDER cABiNE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14. 1916.

Patented Jan.14,1919.

,falling within UNITED sTATEs PHILIP S. McCROS-KEY, OF NETAWAKA, KANSAS;

TRAIN -ORDER CABINET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1919.

Application filed September 14, 1916. Serial o. 120,130.

To all 207mm t may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP S. McCRosKEY, a citizen of the United States,residingat Netawaka, in the county of Jackson, State of Kansas, haveinvented certain newV and useful Improvements in Train-Order Cabinets;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXac-tdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a train order cabinet.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood it is herestated that when a railway telegraph operator at a signal tower takes anorder for the control of trains he must at the saine time release thetrain order board by hand so that the train will be stopped. VThere areseveral different forms of orders of some of which there must be but onecarbon and of others of which various numbers of carbons must be made.In order that the work of taking the orders may be facilitated thecarbon sheets are put in place beforehand so that when an orderisreceived the proper blanks are selected and the order lwritten thereon.

f course, should the operator fail to release the train order board whentaking the 'order the train will'be allowed to proceed beyond the towerand consequently the possibility of a collision will arise.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a cabinet for theorder blanks Awhich is so constructed that upon the withdrawal of one ofthe blanks therefrom the train order board will automatically bereleased.

It is still further an object of my invention to so construct the devicethat the release will be accomplished irrespective of the blank which iswithdrawn. i

With these and other objects in view such as will appear as mydescription progresses, my invention comprises the combinationandarrangement of parts as set forth in 4and the scope of the appendedclaims. Y

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of a train order cabinetconstructed in accordance with the invention, showing several trainorder holders'therein, and the lever for controlling the train orderboard being partly brokenaway;

` top, sidesand back. .sides of the body 1 are formed with spaced rod inposition for locking the train order board in raised or signalingposition;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view showing oneof the deents in locked position with the locking ro Fig. 6 is afragmentary perspective view of one of the train order holders showingin detail the trip cam;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional viewshowing one of the train order holders within the cabinet and the normalposition of the locking rod or bar; l

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing by full linesthe released positionl of the train order controlling lever Yand bydotted lines the locked position thereof.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveralV views in the drawings. r

Referringvto the drawings in detail, A designates generally a trainorder cabinet which is-` inthe formiof a box-like body 1 open at itsfront and closed at its bottom, The inner faces of the horizontallydisposed guide grooves-2 which extend from the open front to the closed.back of the body and constitute runways for the removable train orderholders each 1ncluding abase 3a and a spring clip 3b,lthe latter'b'eingfastened upon the base 3a and is adapted to detachably hold a pluralityof train orderhlanks and carbons upon the base l3Y of the orderblanklholder. l

The cabinet A is adapted tobe located at Ya station or otherpredetermined point at a railway track and upon the top, of the body 1near the rear thereof is a housing 4 in which is swingingly supported ayert 1- cally movable controlling lever 5, which is mounted upon aVhorizontal pivot 5L Journaled in said housing, and thislever 5 isadapted to be connected in any suitable manner with a train order boardcapable of movement to a signaling or non-signaling position, the trainorder board being not shown, and is of any conventional form.

The controlling lever 5 has connected thereto a coiled spring 6 which istrained about the pivot 5a and iXed in any suitable manner to thehousing, the spring 4being designed to throw the lever 5 when releasedto an upright position for the lowering of the train order board tonon-signaling position.

The pivoted end of the lever 5 is formed with a rounded edge 7 servingas a cam and also provided with a shoulder 8 for permitting the lockingof the lever 5 in lowered position in a manner presently described.

Supported for vertical sliding movement in a suitable guidewayintersecting the grooves 2 in one side of the body A and disposedvertically is a locking bar or rod 9 which at the innermost longer edgeis formed with spaced notches 10 through which are adapted to slide theholders 3 when the bar or rod 9 is in lowered position, the said rod orbar being automatically raised under the action of a coiled eXpansionspring 11 mounted in the bottom of the body 1 and acting upon the lowerend of said bar or rod. The bar or rod 9 when in raised position engageswith the shoulder 8 on the lever 5 when lowered to lock the same againstvertical swinging movement and thereby holding the train order board insignaling position. The spring 11 is supported by a base plate 12secured to the bottom of the body 1 of the cabinet as is clearly shownin Fig. 4 of the drawings.

The train order holders each in the base 3a thereof at the rear cornerof one side is formed with a recess 13 in which is fixed a trippingrunner 14 formed with the rearwardly beveled edge 14a to engage thelower end edge of the notch 10 in the bar or rod 9- when in raisedposition to cause the lowering of said baror rod on the pulling of theholder?) from the cabinet, the bar or rod 9 when raised being extendedinto the recess 13 for the automatic tripping thereof by the runner 14when removing the holder 3 from the cabinet. The position of the bar orrod 9 when raised and within. the recess 13 in the base 3a of the holder3 is clearly shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

Mounted on the outerV face ofthe Vside adjacent to the bar or rod 9 ofthe body 1 is a plurality of latch detents 15 each of which isswingingly supported upon a vertical pivot 16 (see Fig. 3 of thedrawings) and these detents 15 are confined within a chamber 17 formedin the side of the body and swinging horizontally therein. Each detentisk formed with a right angular wing 18 adapted to work throughV asuitable slot to project into the groove 2 adjacent thereto,

Y formed by ythe the wing being formed with a beveled edge 18a againstwhich acts the inner end of the base 3a of the holder 3 when movedinwardly in the groove 2 in the cabinet to automatically swing .thedetent 15 outwardly of the groove. The contracted portion 18b bevelededge 18a of the wing 18 serves as alatch to engage in a slot 19 formedin the outer longer side edge of the bar or rod 9, it being understoodof course that a plurality of slots 19 are provided in the bar or rod 9,and the same are located opposite the notches 10 so that any one of thedetents 15 will lock the bar or rod 9 in lowered position against theresistance of the spring 11 when any one of the holders 3 have beenextracted from the cabinet.

The chamber 17 is closed by a cover plate 20 and suitably fastenedwithin said cham# ber to act against the detent 15 are leaf springs 91which urge the detents inwardly for locking engagement with the bar orrod 9 when lowered.

When the holders 3 are within the cabinet A the bar or rod 9 is inraised position and engaged with the lever 5, holding it againstswinging movement and this lever controls the train order board thussustaining the same in signaling position, the bar or'rod 9 beingengaged with the shoulder 8 on said lever 5.

On withdrawing any one of the holders 3 from the cabinet the runner 14acts upon the lower end edge of the companion notch 10 in the bar or rod9 causing the latter to be lowered thereby releasing said bar or rodfrom its engagement with the lever 5 and the spring 6 becomes activeupon the lever to raise the same, thereby lowering the train order boardfrom rsignaling position thus indicating to an approaching train thatthe train order holder has been removed from the cabinet. The removal ofthe train order holder is for the purpose of taking an order therefromby a trainman of a preceding train. On the withdrawal of the holder thedetent 18 next thereto, the series of which when the bar or rod 9 israised are unlocked therefrom, will engage in the slot 19 in said bar orrod 9 and thus lock the same in loweredy position to prevent l/Vhen allof theholders have been placed within the cabinet the detents 15 will beautomatically disengaged from the bar or rod 9 by the action of theholders 3 upon the beveled edges 18a of thewings 18 so that the spring11 will move the bar or lrod 9 to raised position for the engagementthereof in the recesses 13 in the bases 3a of the holders 3 and upondepressing the lever 5 thecam edge 7 will act upon the bar or rod 9 tocause the same to lock with the shoulder 8 the raising thereof.

of said lever and thus sustain it in lowered v position.

automatically release the train order board upon the Withdrawal of anyone of the train order holders from the cabinet A as Will be clearlyapparent.

What is claimed is l. The combination With a cabinet, of a locking levermounted there-On and having` a shoulder, a. vertically slidable rodmounted in said cabinet and engageable With the shoulder on said leverto lock the same in one position, means for urging the rod into lockingengagement with the lever, a plurality of train order holders removablymounted in the cabinet, runners onv said holders for depressing the rodon the removal of any one of the holders from the cabinet toautomatically release the locking lever, and means for locking the rodin loW- ered position when the holder has been removed and automaticallyreleasing said rod when replacing the holder in the cabinet.

2. The combination With a cabinet having a plurality of slidablyremovable blank holders therein, a locking lever on said cabinet, a rodfor engaging the lever to lock the same in a predetermined position,means on the holders to act upon the rod for releasing the same onremoval of any one of the holders from the cabinet, and spring helddetents for locking engagement With the rod When lowered andautomatically controlled by the holders on the removal of any one of thesame from the cabinet and adapted to be released from the rod onreplacing the holders in the cabinet.

In testimony whereof, I aHiX my signature, in the presence of twoWitnesses.

PHILIP S. MGCROSKEY.

Vitnesses:

R. HEMPHILL, E. L. PAIGE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Y Washington, D. C.

